Kestra Investment Management LLC Acquires 141 Shares of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM)

Kestra Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE:PHM) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,923 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 141 shares during the period. Kestra Investment Management LLC’s holdings in PulteGroup were worth $209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Creative Planning grew its stake in PulteGroup by 4.0% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 23,639 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $3,393,000 after purchasing an additional 901 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 8.3% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 19,624 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,817,000 after buying an additional 1,497 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PulteGroup by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,565 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $942,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of PulteGroup by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,943 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,571,000 after buying an additional 924 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axecap Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of PulteGroup during the third quarter valued at $2,975,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 89.90% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Brian P. Anderson sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.45, for a total value of $266,125.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 56,617 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,026,879.65. This represents a 4.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Todd N. Sheldon sold 15,191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.50, for a total value of $1,617,841.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 74,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,961,727. This trade represents a 16.89 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,191 shares of company stock valued at $2,256,367. Insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PHM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on shares of PulteGroup from $165.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of PulteGroup from $146.00 to $119.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Seaport Res Ptn downgraded shares of PulteGroup from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $135.00 price objective on shares of PulteGroup in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on PulteGroup from $165.00 to $140.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, PulteGroup has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.86.

PulteGroup Stock Performance

Shares of PHM opened at $105.80 on Friday. PulteGroup, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.13 and a 12 month high of $149.47. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $111.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $125.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13. The firm has a market cap of $21.42 billion, a PE ratio of 7.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.29 and a beta of 1.68.

PulteGroup (NYSE:PHM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 30th. The construction company reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.28 by $0.22. PulteGroup had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 17.18%. Equities research analysts predict that PulteGroup, Inc. will post 12.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PulteGroup declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Thursday, January 30th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the construction company to repurchase up to 6.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

PulteGroup Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 18th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 18th. PulteGroup’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.98%.

PulteGroup Company Profile

PulteGroup, Inc, through its subsidiaries, primarily engages in the homebuilding business in the United States. It acquires and develops land primarily for residential purposes; and constructs housing on such land. The company also offers various home designs, including single-family detached, townhomes, condominiums, and duplexes under the Centex, Pulte Homes, Del Webb, DiVosta Homes, John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, and American West brand names.